Acceptance
by AliceJo
Summary: Maia Darkwood had it all: A perfect home, a loving family, fun friends and Magic. On the Day she receives her Hogwarts Letter, an unfortunate incident turns her life upside down as she struggles to get accepted in the world which had adopted her. Based before Marauder's Era in 1939. No current ships. R/R! ON TEMPORARY HIATUS!
1. The Perfect Life

_**A/N:**_ Hey all! This is gonna be a multi-chapter story, not a one shot. Also, my story 'Regrets' is complete. I need to update it. Please read and enjoy. Beta needed!

Summary: Maia Darkwood had it all: A perfect home, a loving family, fun friends and Magic. On the Day she receives her Hogwarts Letter, an unfortunate incident turns her life upside down as she struggles to get accepted in the world which had adopted her.

Rating: T

Setting: Based before Marauder's Era.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I do not own the name of my OC "Maia", which is inspired off another book. I only own the characters you do not recognise.

 _"Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking."_

 _~Marcus Aurelius_

Maia Darkwood was a happy 10 year old girl, who had everything one could ask for. Two loving parents; Robert and Angie Darkwood, a magnificent Manor to reside in, house elves ready at their feet to tend to her needs, and a loving friend. What else did she need anyway?

Maia was the only and adopted child of the Darkwood family. All she knew was that one stormy night, Angie happened to come across Maia, lying in a basket beside a graveyard. Angie had been simply strolling outside, coming back from a friend's home. She had chosen to take the muggle way, because the muggle World War II had affected the wizarding community and the threat of the dark wizard, Gellert Grindewald, prevailed.

Since then, Robert and Angie had adopted the little baby, and at the age of five, Maia had undergone a Family Ritual, which made her the legal daughter of the Darkwoods.

From then onwards, Maia had been an inseparable part of the highly known pureblood Family. Each and every day in her life went happily, without any care. The day when she was adopted was always celebrated as her birthday.

All was well. Until for now, that it.

And today was no different.

"Miss Darkwood?" a squeaky voice came through the door.

"Yes Tara? I'm awake," replied Maia, with a muffled yawn.

"Mistress Darkwood would like you to go down for breakfast, Miss," said Tara.

"I'll be there," muttered Maia.

Padding towards the mirror, she took a good look at herself. She had long, black hair cascading down her back, with a pale face and majestic blue eyes. Currently, she was dressed in a nightgown which hugged her tiny figure. She grumbled at her scrawny body, and without looking at herself, dressed up and headed for the Dining Room.

"Good morning, Maia," her parents chorused, as she entered the Dining Room.

Angie Darkwood was a tall woman, and her aristocracy was visible from her dressing sense: a high, turtle neck gown, with her blonde hair tied up in a neat

bun.

Robert Darkwood was no different from his beloved wife; he was a tall, dark haired man with a startling pale face.

She nodded a reply as she sat down in her designated seat, with the various House elves bustling around in the room, Tara placing a plate of steaming English Breakfast in front of her.

Maia loved her parents, and her feelings were reciprocated; at least according to her. Angie and Robert were childless, until they stumbled upon Maia.

Maia had grown up with mixed views about the wizarding world; a magic world hidden from the muggles, who were the people who did not posses magic.

The Darkwoods had raised Maia with the view that Purebloods were the most important blood in the Wizarding World, but Maia had no problem with the other "categories", as her Mother called it. She was often disgruntled because of it.

Her thoughts drifted off towards Orion, her only friend. He was the heir of another Pureblood Family; The Blacks, with their motto as 'Tojorous Pur'.

He was of her age and both of them had been friends since they were only giggling toddlers.

"Mother, Father," said Maia suddenly. "Is it okay with you if I visit Orion today and stay over?"

"It is alright, Maia, but make sure you Floo back home by evening," said Robert.

"I'll make sure of it, Father," said Maia.

Finishing her breakfast, she strolled up to her room, changed into her clothes and Flooed over to Orion.

Melania Black's smiling face greeted her as she walked out of the Floo.

"Hello, Maia," she said.

"Is Orion there?"

"Oh yes, he must be in his room, you know where it is. Kreacher will lead you there."

Suddenly, Arcturus Black III entered the room, his elegant Hat hiding his hair.

"Hello, Ms. Darkwood, it's nice to see you," he said.

She simply smiled in reply and followed the elf as she climbed up the stairs to Orion's Room.

"Orion!"

"Maia!"

Orion's smiling face shown out of the pile of clothes as he rummaged his wardrobe to look for something.

"What are you looking for?"

"My ring, I lost it! Mother will murder me in bed if I don't retrieve it!"

His ring, was a golden ring with the Black Family Crest engraved on it.

"Anyways," he said, climbing out of the pile of robes and holding his ring aloft,

"I hear someone's turning 11 tomorrow."

Oh! She had completely forgotten about her birthday, which was tomorrow. Which didn't surprise her at all. She was bound to forgetfulness.

"You forgot about it, didn't you?" he smirked.

"I had other things on my mind," Maia grumbled.

He smirked once again and announced suddenly,

"Let's go play Quidditch at your place!"

"One who reaches the Floo last is the loser!"

"You bet!"

And as they raced down the stairs, she couldn't help but smile. Life was good.

But only if she knew that she had just jinxed the fact the fact that her life was perfect.

Nothing could ever harm it. _There_ , she thought warily, _I've jinxed it._

 _ **A/N:**_ There it is! This story is also on Wattpad; my name there is PotterheadsLife :)

Next chapter is up next right now!


	2. The 11th Birthday

_"There are two great days in a person's life - the day we are born and the day we discover why."_

 _~William Barclay_

The sunlight filtered through the curtains as Maia stretched, struggling to escape the bed sheet she was tied up in. Her bleary eyes followed the wall in front of her and it landed on the calendar. 1st of July, 1939. It was her birthday!

She hastily snatched away the blanket, and, slipping into her footwear, she hastily got ready and ran towards the living room.

It had been on this day, 10 years ago, that Angie Darkwood had found Maia, wrapped up in a shawl, freezing near the graveyard.

And today, the smiling faces of her parents welcomed her as she skidded to a halt at the door to the Dining Room. Oops.

"Sorry," she muttered.

"Happy Birthday, Maia," chorused her parents in their usual voice.

"Thank you," she said, while Angie reached out and put her arms around Maia quite delicately and hugged her.

"Sit down now, dear, and eat to your heart's content," advised Robert.

As she ate, she couldn't help but think about all the presents that she would have received on her birthday, especially from Orion.

No sooner did she start to walk towards the room where her presents were kept, than her father's voice rang from the Dining Room:

"Not now, Maia! You know that you're friends are going to come over for your birthday party, so your Mother and I have decided that we will present you your gift in front of them!"

Maia groaned; she had expected nothing less from her Father.

"And no going over to the Blacks! is quite busy today, and is ill. I don't want you to add on to her burden today."

"Okay, Father," she replied as she trudged to her room, finding nothing productive to do on her special day.

She's just turned eleven. All of her high hopes of a fantastic day had been ruined. Quite permanently.

Sighing, she turned her attention to the book lying on her desk, "The Witch's Dream."

A cackle of noise echoed in the room as Maia twirled in her new dress gifted to her by her parents.

"Maia dear, you look simply wonderful!"Melania Black exclaimed.

"Really dear, you look just charming," Angie crooned.

She was the only girl amongst the horde of boys as heirs to the Pureblood Families in the Wizarding world, and as a result, she had to sit through the gossip which she detested. With all her heart.

Wandering off to the Halls, she simply glanced at the portraits which adorned the walls laced with silk curtains, her mind focused on other thoughts littered in her brain.

"Hello there, Ms. Darkwood," a deep voice of a man sounded behind her.

Turning abruptly and earning a crick in her neck, she saw who it was; Arcturus Black, Orion's father. His grand suit was tucked up till his throat.

Although his voice was quite steady in her opinion, was it his hand which was

shaking slightly and beads of perspiration visible on his forehead?

"Hello, Mr. Black, thank you for taking out time to attend this party," said Maia, curious.

"No problem, Ms. Darkwood," replied Mr. Black and reached into his coat.

"Here," he said handing her a richly wrapped box, "is your birthday gift. From me."

But he already gave you one! A voice screamed in her mind. On the outside, she simply chirped;

"There was no need, !"

She touched the box warily and no sooner had she done this, than a pulling sensation touched her navel and groped her from behind and it was 's smiling face, that she saw when darkness engulfed her.

 _ **A/N: Haha! Like the Cliffhanger?**_

 _ **Don't worry, I'll update soon!**_


	3. The Imprisonment

**_A/N: Hi there! Here is the next chapter!_**

 ** _Warning: Contains scene which might disturb you a bit. Nothing graphic, nothing beyond PG, may go up to PG-13._**

 _"Imprisonment is as irrevocable as death."_

 _~George Bernard Shaw_

Maia hit a hard ground with a thud. No sooner did she try to get up, than a pair of strong, callused hands grabbed her, one hand on her stomach, the other palm pressing onto her mouth, stuffing her attempts to shout.

She struggled against his arms, kicking her arms uselessly as she tried to kick him, to no avail.

"Stop kicking me, girl!" a deep voice snarled beside her neck.

"Leave me!" she screamed.

The man dragged her across the ground, the earth, rocks and leaves her in the

dress she wore.

had laid down a trap for her. It was a snare, and like an innocent rabbit, she was caught in it, with no means to escape.

The man's destination reached quite quickly. They reached a door; the snatched his wand and unlocked it. He shoved her inside with brutal force; she hit the ground with a thud.

A blinding pain suddenly shot through her back. The pain, too much for her to bare, took away her conscious mind as she slipped into unstable darkness.

Cold. Bitter cold. It was the first thing that Maia registered as she struggled to open her eyes. Propping herself up on her elbow, she took a good look around her 'prison'.

It did look like a real prison cell. There was hardly anything there, except for her and the fine layer of dust which coated the floor and the walls. A single, barred window was fitted in one of the wall, and metallic door on the other.

Her back was still sore; she fell back on the hard floor. She groaned and slumped back onto the floor.

It had all been a trap. Her Mother had said that had been busy. Busy with what? Planning her kidnap?

Still, he had been nervous. His hands and voice shook a bit and he was sweating the last time she had seen him; yesterday.

Maybe he was.

The tears were rolling down her face, betraying her underlying emotions.

Don't. Don't cry.

There was nothing she could do now. Her birthday; completely ruined. Her parents would be so worried about her. Why hadn't they done anything yet to find her? Or were they unsuccessful to do so all night long? Or had they even noticed that she was missing?

Before another thought could enter her restless mind, the door of the cell flew open.

A tall, ferocious, muscular man, with tangled mass of brown hair and eyebrows stared down at her with kind of an expression she couldn't recognise.

"Girl!"

She scampered back in fright.

Reaching her with his hands, he took hold of her and snatched her by the shoulders.

"Leave me! I said, leave me!"

Paying no heed to her cries, he carried her out, accidentally yanking her hair out of the hairstyle.

They were out in some kind of a wood, where stood various grey coloured cabin like structures.

He dropped her and she fell down with a thud!

Still not letting go of her, he dragged her off to a larger looking cabin.

Entering it, the first thing she noticed was a large, brown tawny owl, perched on a table in the centre of the cabin.

Trying to ignore the pain in her back, she was pushed towards the table.

A letter was lying on the desk. She picked it up and read it:

 _Ms. ,_

 _The Werewolf Den,_

 _Epping Forest,_

 _England._

Silence. Her mind couldn't process anything at the moment; it was only registering one single thing.

She had waited for this since she was a baby. She didn't expect her letter to arrive here and in this situation.

Life definitely sucked.

 ** _A/N: That's it. You'll know the reason for the mistreatment of Maia afterwards._**


	4. The Apprehension

_"There are more things to alarm us than to harm us, and we suffer more often in apprehension than in reality."_

 _~Lucius Seneca_

Her delicate hands trembling slightly, she opened the letter. Two sheets of parchment was kept inside.

Clutching the first Parchment tightly, she read:

 _HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF_

 _WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY_

 _Headmaster: Armando Dippet_

 _Dear Ms. Darkwood,_

 _We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary equipment._

 _Term begins on 1st September. We await your owl by no later than 31st July._

 _Yours sincerely,_

 _Albus Dumbledore_

 _Deputy Headmaster_

A shoe creaked behind her and a silhouette of a man shown on the door.

Without thinking, she hollered.

"Why have you brought me here? Why have you done this to me?"

"What? Have I done something?" he acted oblivious.

"Don't act like that! You perfectly know what you've done!"

"Not as dumb as you appear eh, Darkwood? Or should I say, Maia?"he sneered at her.

Seeing this as her chance and her small frame, she made a dash for the door, but the man stopped her by his hand and the door behind him shut, making the room completely dark.

 _"Lumos,"_ the man whispered.

Light lit up on the tip of the man's wand, filling the room with faint light.

His scarred face came into view. He was huge, terribly huge, with scarred face and hands.

"What is it that you want?" Maia screamed again, her voice wavering.

"You," he answered simply.

He eyes popped out. "What?" she said incredulously.

"We, want you to join us. If you're smart enough, you will figure that out. Anyways, your Hogwarts letter is of waste now, isn't it?"

Maia was stunned; to say the least.

"Y-you want me to join you? B-but-"

"Buts? Have any question, dear?" he leered.

He was staring at her constantly, whereas she was having immense difficulty to hold his gaze.

"Why do you want me? A-and what do you mean by- my Hogwarts letter is a waste? WHAT IS IT YOU WANT! JUST LEAVE ME!"

"Woah woah! Hold your tongue!"

He was completely serious now. His eyes were flashing a bright blue in the dimness of the room.

"Your parents," he spat out the word," have wronged me. My clan. And, what is better than to take a scrumptious revenge on their only daughter?"

Their Clan?

Wait up.

She remembered her letter.

Werewolf Den.

Oh shit.

"You're-you- a werewolf! This is your clan! So-so-NO!"

"Yes. I knew you were clever," he smiled.

And before she could do anything, he raised his wand and yelled:

 _"Stupefy!"_

All she saw red light and then she knew no more.

She woke up once again, this time in another cell. Only, she wasn't alone.

That clan leader of the Werewolves was sleeping in a corner.

Willing not to wake him up, she shifted in a sitting position and curled up in a ball.

They were planning to turn her into one of them.

But why?

What had she done? Or was it because of her parents?

Maybe. She remembered vividly how he had spat her parent's name as if it were filth.

She could try to run. But where to run? She had no idea how much time it would take her to reach home from here.

They would catch her, surely. They were full grown, werewolves and wizards, whereas she; an ordinary, untrained, 11 year old girl with no prospect whatsoever of going to Hogwarts.

But she just couldn't turn into a werewolf!

They were just creatures who were looked down upon; feared.

And she could not turn into one of them.

Her Parents hated 'these kinds of filth breeds'. And she was definitely going to turn into one of them.

Oh no.

 _ **A/N: Oh no! Maia, a werewolf? Will she able to escape?**_

 _ **The answer is in the upcoming chapters, so stay tuned!**_

Thanks for reading :)


	5. Tactics of a Slytherin

_**A/N: Hey people! Next chapter!**_

 _ **The title is so because I just transferred myself into Slytherin from Gryffindor on Pottermore, well, because I didn't feel brave enough.**_

 _ **On with the story anyway...**_

 _"Glory is nothing else but success, and to achieve it, one only has to be cunning."_

 _~Mikhail Lermontov_

Maia had enough of this nonsense.

If she had to escape this situation, she must think of something.

Something worthy of a Slytherin.

Her parents, she remembered vaguely, had always remarked that she would do well in Slytherin. Maybe now was the time to implement it.

She looked around. The clan leader had gone. This was a great time.

But then, she heard a gasp of a boy and jumped.

Turning around quite dramatically, she came face to face with a mousey brown haired boy with dark eyes, staring back at her.

"Who are you?" they gasped simultaneously.

"You go first," they said together again.

Eyes wide, he motioned her to introduce herself.

"I-I'm Maia. Maia Darkwood," she managed to squeak.

"Darkwood? Like in Robert Darkwood's daughter?"

"Yes...and you are?" she asked, tilting her head.

"I'm Joseph. Joseph Granville," he muttered.

"What are you doing here? Are you with them," her voice dripped with venom as she said the word, "Or did they kidnap you?"

"Are you insane? Me, with them?" he sputtered.

"Sorry, I just-I just thought..."she trailed off.

Awkward silence prevailed. While Joseph pointedly ignored her, she took a look at him.

He was thin, with his brown hair mussed up, and his robes were normal, day wear robes, which had a not too richly appearance. He seemed to avoid her, his fingers tugging on his sleeve. It was making her feel strangely guilty.

"Look, I-I'm sorry. It's just that I've been abducted by them for Merlin knows how long and I was just shown my Hogwarts letter and told I wouldn't be able to go there and I just can't function this properly and I ended up blow-" she stopped.

Realising with a blush, she had been ranting and Joseph had been staring at her weirdly.

"Sorry," she was able to say, her face burning.

"It's alright. I shouldn't have done that. It's just, they knocked me out while I was out on my way towards my friend's house and brought me here. I only just woke up and I wasn't able to see you until now," he said.

"Really? Me too! They knocked me out after dragging me into one of these cells," she said.

"Oh! But, do you know who they are?"

"You mean Werewolf?"

"You know?"

"Yup. My Hogwarts Letter was addressed to 'The Werewolf Den'."

"I've seen them before, you know," he shuddered, "My Dad stood up to them. They've been wronging the Werewolf Law, my Dad said. They apparently want to take a revenge by turning me. There's nothing we can do, you know. They're too powerful."

Maia was stunned. There's nothing we can do. They're too powerful.

"B-but, there must be something!"

"Nope. We tried. My uncle is in right now," he added, averting his gaze.

"We gotta escape. Right now."

"Not right now! They're awake and about right now!"

"Okay then, not now!"

"You never told me about yourself," said Joseph.

"Oh! Well, it was my birthday and then gave me something as my birthday present and then suddenly I was portkeyed here and the clan leader grabbed me and put me in some cell. Then when I woke up, they dragged me and showed me my Hogwarts Letter!

"The Clan leader then said that they want me! For my parents have wronged them too!"

Joseph stared at her. Was he doubting her?

"If Purebloods like have stood up against them, they must be pretty bad! What are we gonna do?"

"We're gonna run away. Today. Midnight. They'll be asleep, right?"

"Yes! We can do so! But...where are we gonna go? We're probably in the middle of some deep wood!"

Maia felt stupid. How did she forget that? Unless...

"The werewolves must sleep in some kind of a house! It'll have Floo! We can floo away!"

Joseph grinned for the first time ever since she had been there.

He looks quite cute.

Shut up, Maia!

Her mind then stopped wandering and as she chatted with him, the werewolves left them alone, only pausing to pass something for them to eat.

And now, at midnight, she was going to escape. She was sure of it.

Only if she knew that she had jinxed it.

 ** _A/N: There you have it! New character!_**

 ** _No romance now, they're too young :)_**

 ** _Stay tuned to find out if they succeed!_**


	6. Tenebris Angelus

**A/N: I apologise for the wait, I know how frustrating it is.**

 _"Homo homini lupus." *_

 _-Geoffrey Gorer_

White light was filtering through the deep woods in the darkness as the cold winds blew harshly over them, rustling the leaves.

Though Maia had been confident enough to form this plan with Joseph, she was still skeptical. Would it work?

It has too work, she thought.

But still, overconfidence was pretty harmful.

She wound her chilled arms around herself, unsuccessfully trying to block the cold.

"Shouldn't we walk faster?" whispered Joseph.

"Yes, sorry, I just got caught up," she muttered and quickened her steps.

The moonlit night was not helping her to overcome her uneasiness. The night had a strange, eerie feeling to it. Something was terribly wrong.

The only sound which could be heard was their footstep and of the wind blowing gently over the leaves.

They trudged on silently, neither of them speaking due to inexplicable nervousness.

What was wrong?

They were nearing the end of the woods now, which meant that they hadn't been far inside.

What a short-lived relief.

They slowly walked in the clearing when the sound of heavy footsteps began to echo from their left.

Joseph looked at her as she met his eyes, her confusion mirrored in his eye.

Automatically, their pace quickened, and her breath hitched.

A low, bass growl emitted from behind.

There was the pack of werewolves, the leader standing in the front. Their scarred faces had a look of ferocious longing. One of the werewolf at the back licked his lips.

Uh oh.

"RUN!" bellowed Joseph, as he grabbed Maia's hand and sprinted in the front. Maia did not need any further advice.

Struggling to keep pace with Joseph in her dress, she stumbled and ran as fast as her legs could take her.

Oh no.

A sudden binding force creeped up her back, and she flew black and slammed into one of the female werewolf. She frantically turned her head and saw, to her dismay, that Joseph too, had been summoned and was currently struggling in one the werewolf's arms.

"You really did think you both idiots could get away so easily, eh? What did you make of us; think we're dunderheads who wouldn't decipher a silly plan made by two 11- year olds? You think you can be spared after what your parents have done?" snarled the werewolf who was clutching her.

They threw Joseph and her on the ground harshly. Maia winced again. She might have broken a bone again.

The pack leader raised his wand and muttered something under his breath, pointing it towards the pair of them.

It felt as though an invisible rope had been tightly wound around her. She couldn't move.

Shit.

Her thoughts must have been evident on her face, as the leader simply laughed.

He banished them away from themselves.

Her eyes instantaneously moved towards the sky, her cheeks wet with tears she didn't realise that she had been shedding.

There was no escape now. Nothing could be done.

The clouds cleared off quite dramatically, revealing the same thing that Maia now dreaded.

The moon. The full moon.

The clan members now began to convulse. Their skin stretched over their body, now rapidly growing. Fur was sprouting from every inch of their skin. They had been dressed in loose clothes, which now began to fit their body, which now was of an animal. Their face was now of a wolf. The wolf, standing in the place of the clan leader, howled, followed by the others. They took off in other directions, running wildly on their legs, while two of them, ran towards them.

Even though it was impossible, she tried to wriggle away from there. There could be something that they could do. Anything.

And she knew nothing more than screams that filled the night: hers, Joseph's and the werewolf's howls, a searing pain in her neck and then- blackness.

 **A/N: Leave reviews, but please, don't flame. Don't like it, don't read it. Simple as that. There's no need to say it loud here.**

 **# Tenebris Angelus: Latin for 'Dark Angel'**

 *** 'Homo homini lupus:' Latin for the following sentence:**

 **'A man is a wolf to another man.'**


	7. St Mungo's Hospital

_"Can I clear my conscience, if I'm different form the rest, do I have to run and hide?"_

 _~Imagine Dragons_

Her neck throbbed horribly as she tried to open her weary, heavy eyes. Through her slit vision, all she could make out was white, with a blob of lime-green rushing hither-tither.

"Ughmm," she gurgled out.

She tried to lift her neck, and as a sharp pain shot through it, she fell back on the pillow.

"Careful there, dearie, you'll not want to move that neck," a man's voice.

Her vision returned to normal. She was in a white room, with lime-green robed wizards around her.

"Wh-what happened?"

"Your parents came an left you here. Said you got bit-" he stopped speaking suddenly.

Where was she last night? The pain in her neck? The healer stopping at the word 'bit-'

Oh wait. The memories came flooding in her brain.

Night. Joseph. Running away. Werewolves.

Oh shit.

"I- I got bitten? By those werewolves, didn't I ?" her voice came out a mere whisper.

"Um-"

"Didn't I?

"Yeah. Yeah, you did."

"Who brought me here? And- and Joseph? Where is he? Is he okay?"

"Your friend is perfectly fine. Lying right in the bed beside you. He's still unconscious. You better rest, missy."

The incident had come flowing back into her mind like a rising high tide. She was now one of the foulest, damned creatures that the wizarding world had ever known. A werewolf.

What could she do now? An unbearable thought sprung up in her mind like bile and she gagged at the thought.

She was just an ordinary, adopted girl. She was bought into this world, and she hoped to be recognised in. If it hadn't been for her parents, she would probably have been long dead.

And now, the very same parents, the one who taught her how to walk, to speak, probably hate her very existence.

Tears had started to leak from her eyes. She was all alone in this world now, a little lonely bunny.

What could she do now? Where did she have to go to now? Her family had probably deserted her.

She had never felt so useless, so hopeless, so despondent.

"Maia? You there?" came Joseph's voice, raspy.

"Joseph! I'm here, right be-beside you. A-are you okay?" she sobbed.

"Maia! Thank God! Th-those werewolves got us, Maia, I'm so sorry!"

"Y-you've got nothing to be sorry about! It was all my stupid proposition! I shouldn't have suggested anything! Look, I put us both in a life we'll regret!"

Before Joseph could reply, the Healer came rushing back in, bustling towards Joseph, murmuring under his breath rapidly. She could hear only stifled voice for a moment, before Joseph yelped,

"My parents are here! Really! Can I meet them?"

Sure enough, two people came inside, the women sobbing quietly in to her handkerchief.

Joseph looked nothing like his father, except those dark eyes staring around the room. he was tall, lean man, and his clothing did reveal that he was not very affluent, too. His mother, on the other hand, had her son's same mousey brown hair and face.

The family reunited, and Maia dared not look in that direction; not that she could with her neck, anyways.

Besides, the look of a family, a child being comforted by his parents, was unendurable.

She couldn't help it but sob quietly.

The woman seemed to have heard her.

"Dear?"

"She's Maia, mother. Maia Darkwood. I met her there, at the Den. We both tried to escape, you see."

Maia tried to move her neck ever so slightly; a kind face of a short woman loomed over. She was staring at her with wide, blue eyes.

"Dear, is there something wrong?"

"N-nothing."

"Then, brave girls don't cry for nothing, you know. What is it? You can tell me."

"N-no! Please, don't!"

She instinctively yanked her head up and a shooting pain shot through her neck once again, and she lost her consciousness; she had lost her count of the amount of times she had done so.

Margaret Granville was definitely not having a good time. She had warned her husband fruitlessly not to trouble the Werewolves, for the most feared thing had just come true. Her child had been turned.

Now, she heard the sobs of a little girl beside her. She looked around and saw a little child lying on the bed, with a silver paste daubed on her neck, with her long, dark hair a mess. She slowly approached her.

"Dear, is there something wrong?"

"N-nothing."

"Then, brave girls don't cry for nothing, you know. What is it? You can tell me."

"N-no! Please, don't!"

Instinctively, the girl heaved her head up and fainted.

"Healer!" she shouted, as Joseph shouted "Maia!"

The healer came running in, and, calling his trainee, they started to tend to Maia's neck.

She asked the healer about her when they were done and Maia was now sleeping under the effects of the Dreamless Sleep Potion.

"Poor child. Her parents, the Darkwoods happened to wrong the Werewolves," he said, looking at her husband meaningfully,

"Her parents simply left her here and left. Didn't even bother to stay and find out about her condition. They were quite late in bringing her in, she had lost quite a lot of blood. It seems like her parents won't take her in now, they left instructing never to let the child near them."

"But, they were against the Werewolves! Maia told me this herself! Why would they leave her?" exclaimed Joseph.

"We don't know, child. We're unaware. Rich Purebloods, them and their mystery."

 **A/N: The story will be updated slowly.**


End file.
